Ore concentration.



of the valuable mineral of the valuable portion.

' ment of the fine valuable preventing them from being-readily sepa- I UNITED STATES JOHN W. LITTLEFORD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

ASSIGNOB TO MINERALS SEPARATION, LIMITED, 0]? LONDON, ENGLAND.

ORE CONCENTRATION.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JonN'W. Lrmnronn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident-of the city and county of San.Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore Concentration, of which the following is a specification.

he invention relates to'improvements in the art of separating valuable mineral from ore'slimes.

The object ofthe invention is to render the slimes more amenable to the separation of the valuable mineral therefrom.

In. concentrating or separating the val-- .uable mineral from ores containing the same, the ores are usually ground or pulverized in order that the valuablemineral may be released. The ore is either during or after the pulverizing operation and the valuable mineral or a portion is separated therefrom. In grinding the ore to a certain fineness, for instance to such a fineness that the articles will pass through a screen having 2 y openings to. the linear inch, some of the ore is ground very much finer than this and the finely ground valuable mineral particles are very diflicult of recovery. These finely ground particles of the ore,

which consist chiefly of silica, silicates or other gangue matter, and some valuable -mineral, are carried over the concentrating tables or apparatus with but small recovery Some of the finely ground silicious or gangue matter, when mixed with water, forms a slime which set .tles slowly in water, and retards the settlemineral particles,

rated. I

I have found that if the fine slimes in the ore pul can be coagulated or brought into a; flocc ent condition, they'do not exert so great a retarding effect in the settlement of the valuable mineral and that. the valuable mineral can be more readily recovered on concentrating tables or otherwise. The silicious or gangue slimes are coagulated or gelatinized or both by adding to or mixing with the ore pulp, and some valuable mineral and other material, a small amount of saponaceous materialnr soap, either in the form of an emul Speciflcation of Letters Patent. Application filed December 15, 1913.

I an

mixed with water soap or emulsion which contains the slimes Patented J une 15, 1915. Serial No. 806,770.

rial which I employ is preferably a tallow soap, containing fatty acids, chiefly stearic acid, and a small amount of sodium, al

though it may contain other ingredients. The small proportion of soap or soap emulsion is added to or mixed with the pulp and the mass stirred or agitated or both to bring the soap particles into contact with ortions of the slimes and the slimes quic 1y coagulate or become flocculent and settle with comparative rapidity. When the slimes are'in this condition their retarding or holding effect on the valuable mineral is. very much lessened, so that the valuable mineral may be more readily separated. The ore pulp may then be delivered to concentrating tables or other concentrating apparatus. and is in better condition for separating out valuable. mineral on these' devices than it was before the addition of the soap. The Water containing the soap which flows -from the concentrating apparatus is not impoverished of its soap and may be used over again, thus reducing the cost of the process:

From'the nature of the process, and the varying conditions under which it must necessarily be employed in practical mining, it is can be established. The proportions, tobe used are determined from experiment on apparent that no definite proportions difi'erent ores to determine the requisite proportions for accomplishing the desired result on each ore. j By using an emulsion of saponaceous material, water and hydrocarbon oil of which thick pine oil is an example, action of coagulating and precipitating the slimes is hastened, so that in practice it may be advisable to employ the emulsion, instead of the soap alone. Theemulsion preferably contains pine oil, anhydrous ap and water, in the proportion of thirty-two weight of pine oil, nine parts by anhydrous soap, and fifty-nine parts by weight of water, to which is added suflicient liquid to bring the emulsion to the desired consistency. A

in proportion tothe slimes is suificient to produce the desired coagulation. I have "found that with an ore pulp containing silica, silicates," copper sulfid mineral and iron sulfid' minerals, that th desired efl. by adding ect is obtained ton of dry slimes, one-half pound-or lem of I find that the very small quantity of the to'a weight of water and one par an emulsion consisting of three parts by ore pulp which consists'in coagulating the said gangue slimes by adding to the ore pulp an emulsion of a soap audpine oil, and separating the coagulated gangue from the .metal-liferous constituents of the pulp.

- rating the Carr-action In Lette'rsPatent No. 1.l42,822.

2. The hereindescribed process for sepavaluable metalliferous constituents from the gangne slimes contained in ore pulp, which consists in adding to the ore pulp' an emulsion of'soap and pine oil-in approximately the proportions by weight of 32 parts pine oil, 9 parts anhydrous soap, and 59 parts water, and thereafter separat ing the coagulated gangue from the metalliferous constituents of'tlieore pulp.

3. The hereindescribed process for sepa rating the valuable metalliferous constituents from the colloidal silica slimes conimprovement in requiring correction as follows: Page AL-l upon the application of John W. Littleford, of San Francisco,

2', after line 3, insert Signed and sealed this 6th day of July, A. D. 1915..

tained in ore pulpwhich consists in coagulating the said colloidal gangue slimes by adding to-the ore pulp an emulsion of a soap and-,pine oil, and separating the coagulated ganguefrom the inetallit'erous constituents of the pulp.

4. The hereindescribed process for separating the valuable metalliferous constituents fromthe colloidal silica slinies contained in ore pulp which consists in coagulating the sliines by adding to the ore pulp an emulsion of soap and pine oil in approximately the. proportions by weight of 32 parts pine oil, 9 parts anhydrous soap and 59 parts water and thereafter separating. the valuable lnetalliferous constituents from the coagulated silicaf slimes.

In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California,- this 9th day ofDecember 1913.-

, I J OHN. \V. LITTLEFORD.

In presence of H. G. Paos'r, W'. V. HEALEY.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,142,822, granted une 15, 191-5,

California, for an I i i a I c .I c n Ore Concentration, an error appears in the pr nted specificatlo and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

a. F. WHITEHEA I Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

